Pump rod coupling



Jan. 12, 1937. W. H. MCGUFFIN 2,067,329

PUMP ROD COUPLING Filed Aug. 28, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aiiomg g Jan. 12,1937. w. H. McGUFFlN 2,067,329

PUMP ROD COUPLING Filed Aug. 28, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor By@Mwifi.

Patented Jan. 12, 1937 V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to rod couplings for use in connectionwith cleaning sand from oil and water wells. J

The purpose of the present invention is to conserve time and labor inremoving the rods of a well that extend from the lift pump above theground down to the cylinder and pump proper. After the cylinder in awell becomes affected with sand it requires the removal of the cylinder,rods and tubing from the well in order to remove the sand therefrom. Inremoving the cylinder it is necessary to first attempt to remove the rodand with the ordinary right-hand threads the uppermost rod usuallyunscrewsin's'tead of the bottom one that is conhected to the cylinder.

In order to overcome this objection I provide a double socket iormin'gthe subject matter of the present invention which is" placed on the lastconnection of the rod in the well immediately above the cylinder and isprovided with lefthand threaded connections permitting the inner memberof the socket to be removed without disconnecting a single rod withinthe well by so doing. This construction will permit the well operator tofirst remove his rods and then remove the tubing without having thetrouble of attempting to remove the tubing and rods at the same timewhich usually causes a great deal of damage to the rods as theconnections of the rods and the joints of the tubing do not generallycoincide. I

A further object of the present invention is to provide an instrumentthat is capable of also being used'ior the purpose'of connecting rodsthat become disconnected in the well without the necessity of removingthe rods from the well. Other objects and advantages reside in thedetails of construction and operation as more fully hereinafterdescribed and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsforming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like partsthroughout and in which:-

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the coupling showing the innerand outer sections connected together.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view therethrough.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view showing theposition of the latch member.

Figure 4 is a detail of the upper threaded looking plug.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through the stemshowing the latch member mounted therein.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the upper end of theinner member of the coupling and Figure 7 is a transverse sectional viewtaken substantially on a line 1-1 of Figure 5.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose ofillustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention,the numeral 5 designates the outer tubular member of the rod coupling,internally threaded at its lower end as at 6 for threadedly attaching toa pipe or rod section and also internally threaded at its" upper end, asindicated at I for threadedly receiving the reduced threaded sec tion 8'of the inner rod coupling member 8. The inner rod coupling member 9projects outwardly from the upper end of the member 5, the outer end ofthe inner member being of a uniform diameter with the outer member 5.

The inner rod coupling member 9 is of a solid construction and at itsupper end is formed with a threaded recess Ill for attaching to an upperrod section. The threaded connections I and 8 of the outer and innermembers of the coupling are lefthanded, or opposite to that of thethreads 6 and I0 usually employed for connecting rod or pipe sections.

A locking plug II is externally threaded and also provided withlefthanded threads for threaded engagement within the upper end of theouter. rod member 5. The locking plug II is provided with a bore throughwhich a stem I2 depending from the head 9 of the inner coupling memberis inserted.

The lower portion of the outer coupling member 5 is reduced. as moreclearly illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings to provide a shoulder I4upon which is seated a locking collar I5 and retained in position withinthe member 5 by a pin I6 extending laterally through aligned openings inthe collar and the wall of the member 5. The opposed edges of thelocking members I I and I5 are formed with notches I! and I 8respectively and the portion of the stem I2, normally positioned betweenthe locking members II and I3 is provided with a pair of laterallyextending lugs I9 positioned at diametrically opposite sides of thestem. The projections I9 are of proper size for seating within thenotches I1 and I8 of the locking member whereby it will be apparent thatupon the removal of the headed end 9 of the inner coupling member andwithdrawing the inner member the lug I9 will become seated in thenotches I8 of the upper locking member I I whereby said locking membermay be removed from the outer member 5 of the coupling.

The lower portion of the stem I2 is formed with a slotted opening 20within which a latch member 2| is pivotally supported upon a pin 22,said latch member being of a size to be entirely confined within theopening of the stem. The

lower end of the latch member is provided with a lateral extension 23and a leaf spring 24 is secured to the stem and projects within theslotted opening 20 for engaging with the rear edge of the latch memberfor projecting the lateral end 23 outwardly of the slotted opening.

A split ring 25 is slidable on the stem 112 adjacent the latch memberand is engageable with the latch member to retain the same in aretracted position within the slotted opening 20 during the assemblingof the parts. The latch member 2! is positioned below the locking collarl3 when the parts are in assembled position, as clearly illustrated inFigure 2 of the drawings, and after the inner coupling member 9 has beenunscrewed and the stem I2 partly retracted, the latch member will engagethe notches I! of the locking member to prevent the parts from turning.In view of this construction it will be apparent that if one of the rodsin the well is disconnected and contact is made and the entire string ofrods are then screwed to the right for the purpose of drawing them up,the operator can pull the section 9 up about one-half inch and then dropthe same down to cause an engagement of the latch member and the wellcan then be pumped or the entire string of rods pulled out Withoutnecessitating removal of the tubing.

It is obvious the invention is susceptible of various changes inconstruction without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is: I

1. A rod coupling comprising inner and outer coupling members havinglefthanded threaded connections, righthanded threads on the respectiveopposite ends of the assembled coupling members, a locking memberthreaded in the outer coupling member and cooperating means between theinner coupling member and the locking member for manipulating thelocking member into and out of threaded engagement with the outercoupling member.

2. A rod coupling comprising inner and outer coupling members havinglefthanded threaded connections at one end, righthand threads on therespective opposite ends of the assembled coupling members for attachingthe coupling to the sections of a pump rod, a locking member havingleithanded threaded engagement with the outer coupling member andinwardly of its connection with the inner coupling member, said lockingmember having a bore therein, a stem on the inner coupling memberslidably inserted in said bore and cooperating means between the stemand the locking member for manipulating the looking member into and outof threaded engagement with the outer coupling member.

3. A rod coupling comprising inner and outer coupling members havinglefthanded threaded connections at one end, righthand threads on therespective opposite ends of the assembled coupling members for attachingthe coupling to the sections of a pump rod, a locking member havinglefthanded threaded engagement with the outer coupling member andinwardly of its connection with the inner coupling member, said lockingmember having a bore therein, a stem on the inner coupling memberslidably inserted in said bore and cooperating means between the stemand the locking member for manipulating the locking member into and outof threaded engagement with the outer coupling member, a locking collarwithin the outer coupling member and positioned inwardly of said lockingmember, said locking collar having notches formed in one end thereof anda latch member carried by the stem engageable with said notches forsecuring the parts against rotation.

4. A rod coupling comprising inner and outer coupling members havinglefthanded threaded connections at one end, righthand threads on therespective opposite ends of the assembled coupling members for attachingthe coupling to the sections of a pump rod, a locking member havinglefthanded threaded engagement with the outer coupling member andinwardly of its connection with the inner coupling member, said lookingmember having a bore therein, a stem on the inner coupling memberslidably inserted in said bore and cooperating means between the stemand the locking member for manipulating the locking member into and outof threaded engagement with the outer coupling member, a locking collarfixedly secured within the outer coupling member inwardly of saidlocking memher, said locking collar also having a bore therethrough forreceiving the stem and a spring projected latch member pivotally carriedby the stem and engageable with the locking collar upon a partialretraction of the inner coupling member to secure the parts againstrotation.

WM. H. MCGUFFIN.

